Glassware making machines typically employ invert arms for transferring neck ring assemblies between a blank station and a blow station. A neck ring assembly may include opposed neck ring sections and a neck ring guide between the sections to keep the sections aligned during opening and closing of the sections. U.S. Pat. No. 7,353,667 discloses an example of such a neck ring assembly.
A general object of the present disclosure, in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, is to provide a new neck ring design that may reduce or eliminate the need for swabbing a neck ring with lubricant.
The present disclosure embodies a number of aspects that can be implemented separately from or in combination with each other.
A glassware-forming neck ring system in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure includes a neck ring assembly and a carrier assembly carrying the neck ring assembly. The neck ring assembly includes a neck ring guide having a first forming aperture therethrough around a vertical axis, and a neck ring divided along a longitudinal axis into neck ring sections that are carried by the neck ring guide and that are movable toward and away from one another along the neck ring guide along a lateral axis. The carrier assembly includes a carrier having a body with a second forming aperture therethrough, longitudinally opposite ends, laterally opposite sides between the ends, and a channel extending between the sides, restricting movement of the neck ring assembly along the vertical and longitudinal axes, and permitting movement of the neck ring assembly along the lateral axis.